Stampy Land Challenge

COLORS, COLORS, and COLORS...

2011-11-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

with a great Die-Versions font thrown in for good measure!

Karen, one of the awesome Design Divas from Scrapy Land, took the new Fri-DARE-day Challenge and ran with it!

She opened her new Sizzix Framelits Fern Die & Stamps and was thrilled with the results. See for yourself...

She stamped the large fern with Tim Holtz Forest Moss Distress Ink, the humming bird with Victorian Velvet and the dragonfly with Faded Jeans. I love the light colors of the ink, and how it almost appears dimensional because of the details in the Hero Arts stamps.

When using these new Framelits you will appreciate the perfectly cut outline each die provides. Stamp first, place your die, and die-cut. PERFECTION!

Karen placed her image on a die-cut Spellbinders Nestabilities and pop-dotted both the humming bird and the dragon fly. Love the look she got with this simple addition!

Her sentiment was die-cut with Die-Versions Tickled Pink. I think the light and airy font looks perfect with the die-cut, stamped image!

So Karen is done with her challenge - have you started on yours yet? You still have two full weekends to ink up some rubber and/or acrylic. Just make sure you leave the black ink in its spot. Colored ink is all you will be using this time!

If you have any questions for Miss Karen, please leave a comment below. And thank you Karen - I so appreciate you!

MY APOLOGIES...

2011-11-03T12:58:00.004-07:00

if you thought I was M.I.A. Well, I guess I was - but I wasn't buried under rubber stamps or anything like that. Just busy - getting things planned and schedules worked out. Between Stampy Land and Scrapy Land - we like to keep things hopping.

What that means for you, right now, is that I'm going to change up the Stampy Land DARE schedule just a bit. Starting this month, I will be posting the DARE on the first Thursday of the month. One DARE per month. I am getting feedback from stampers that they'd like more time to prepare. And I figured now that we are officially in the "holiday season" - time is pretty precious. So today - the NOVEMBER DARE goes live!

I figured that since time does get pretty scare this time of year - let's make it easy. No coloring of images, no cutting out stamped images. Break out those colored ink pads that are gathering dust in your drawers and put them to good use! No black ink allowed! No image coloring necessary. Just colored ink pads, stamped images or patterns and a die-cut or color ink stamped sentiment!

Here is what I did with DARE #8...

I kept this one really REALLY simple. I used the Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Frame 1 and then stamped a bunch of the small flowers from this American Crafts Enjoy set and this Sentiments set. I stamped everything with Ranger Distress Inks - all of which are available on our sister-site Scrapy Land. I love the light look that the Distress Inks create. The edge of my die-cut frame was inked with a coordinating Distress Ink.

For my sentiment I die-cut one of Die-Versions NEW Micro fonts - this one being Mucho Micro. I love this font - very tiny but also chunky. The stamped frame was pop-dotted, and wrapped with bakers twine.

Now for the news that everyone has been waiting for - the long overdue Golden Essie for DARE #7...

Congratulations to Miss Nancy! She just won a background stamp of her choice from the Stamp-Ede line...Love Definition, Love Background or Love Word Search. You can see Nancy's card by clicking here! Nancy if you'll email me {stampylandsusan@gmail.com} I'll get your shipping information and send you your Golden Essie...

Our two DARE Diva-ettes this time are...

Annette and Nikki. Both of these stampers did great coloring on their cards and made stunning Halloween card creations! You can see their cards HERE and HERE!

The link-up form is below. Upload your "colored ink only" stamped project to an online gallery {like Photobucket or Flickr} or post it on your personal blog. When you share the link with us you'll get fun feedback and warm fuzzies! If you have any questions about what to do, please leave a comment below or email me directly!

WELCOME BACK...

2011-10-15T14:32:00.007-07:00

to another Fri-DARE-day Challenge! We're already up to week SEVEN - wowzers - where does the time go?

A big-Essie-thank-you, to all of our DARE #6 participants. The winner of DARE #6 will be announced at the end of today's post. For now, let's talk DARE #7.

This week, I need everyone's help. It's time to ramp up the participation in the DAREs. We need more stampers, stamping more and sharing more. We had 7 participants this time around - I am challenging everyone to share the DARE with a friend, and get the participants doubled.

If we get 14 or more participants I'll give away two prizes...

an awesome Stamp-ede Background stamp of your choice

AND

a $10 StampyLand.com store credit

If we don't reach at least 14 participants, I'll give away one prize...

an awesome Stamp-ede Background stamp of your choice

{the LOVE definition is my personal fave,

but the Word Search is oh-so-much fun!}

Now, let's see what Essie has for the DARE itself...

I figure it's about time we talk holidays. I've put it off long enough. As soon as we mention Halloween you know it'll be New Year's Eve tomorrow. But I'm ready, I think I can handle it! In fact, bring it on!

So for the next 2 weeks show us anything Halloweenie. Orange, black, purple, lime green - whatever colors you love for this holiday. You get brownie points for using a stamp that we carry in our store. Some of my favorites include...

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, here is a card I made for my favorite far-away college witch...

This 5.5"x 5.5" is decorated with Echo Park Apothecary papers from Scrapy Land. Cute Witch Marci was colored with Copics and then hand-cut and pop dotted on a Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Frame 1. I added a simple sentiment with Die-Versions "Saloon Door" font. I love this font!

I hope you're excited about a Halloween theme - and I hope you can recruit some friends to play along too! We need 'em all!

And now - for the Fri-DARE-day #6 winner! Receiving the $15.00 Stampy Land store credit is...

Miss Tina - - - THREE CHEERS for Tina! You can see Tina's card by clicking here! What a cute card, with a great fall theme. And she made her own background stamp by repeatedly stamping leaf stamps. Cute, cute, CUTE! Tina, please email me {stampylandsusan@gmail.com} and we'll get your shopping spree set up! I'll also send you the code for your Golden Essie...

Our two DARE Diva-ettes this time are...

Deena and Annette both used great background images on their cards that you can see here and here! Thanks ladies for stamping and sharing your work with us. I hope you'll join us again, for the next DARE!

The link-up form is below. Upload your stamped Halloween themed project to an online gallery or to your personal blog and share the link. If you have any questions about what to do, leave a comment or email me.

ONE MORE CHANCE...

2011-10-12T18:31:00.003-07:00

to participate in the Fri-DARE-day Challenge from two Fridays ago. There is still time! Entries will be accepted until midnight tonight.

Well, 11:59pm PDT tonight.

I have a TUTE to share today, one that uses the great Ti m Holtz background stamps. It's crazy, and somewhat random - but that's what I get for filming on the fly...

Here is the final card I made today, of the thirty-five total...

they were out the door to the post office in plenty of time! Hurray for mass-producing an easy card!

Each card is slightly different, some black and some purple bats, but they are all handmade and they will all be put to good "dorm use".

If you have any questions about heat embossing, embossing fixes, masking or Distress Inks, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or leave a comment below {stampylandsusan@gmail.com}

A new Fri-DARE-day challenge goes up on Friday, tune it to see what's in store!

HOW ABOUT SOME...

2011-10-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

acrylic stamp tips and tricks today? It's time for TUTE-day!

This isn't anything high-tech or revolutionary, but it's one of those tricks that I use all of the time. It's a tip that saves me, and helps me use the products I have in a new and necessary way!

The stamp set I used in this video:

Hero Arts Essential Elements {love this set - use it ALL of the time!}

The other supplies I use, that are available at Scrapy Land:

If you have any questions about clear acrylic stamps, or using sentiment stamps to your advantage - please feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email at stampylandsusan@gmail.com

NOW WE'RE PAST #5...

2011-09-30T15:49:00.002-07:00

which means #6 is up next! Time for a winner, some big congrats and another Fri-DARE-day Challenge!

A super-Essie-thank-you, with hot pink sprinkles on top, to all of our DARE #5 participants. We slowly but surely building up our DARE participation list, so we love referrals. Tell your friends, mention it at your stamp-nights, share the link on Facebook. Maybe we should have a DARE referral party?!?!

The winner of Fri-DARE-day #5 will be announced at the end of today's post. For now, let's go over the specifics for the next DARE!

The prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #6 will earn

a $15.00 store credit for Stampy Land.

Shop for any in stock item - and $15.00 is on us!

Now, let's see the DARE itself...

I love background images! They can be subtle or bold, monochromatic or contrasting, busy or calming. One of my favorite ways to use background images is to heat emboss the stamped image. It's almost like turning plain cardstock into a patterned paper.

And if you don't have any background stamps - not to worry! Create you own! One single flower or sand castle or flourishy heart, repeatedly stamped all across a card - creates a background image! {I always try to remember to rotate my stamp, stamp some half-off the paper, and try and balance the overall design!}

So this week, show us a card, any size, any theme - but with a background image used. Die-cut a shape, and background stamp that shape. Trim your card base and background stamp that. Die-cut a sentiment with a font, and background stamp the letters! Use a background stamp any way you want, but use at least one!

Here are some of my favorite background stamps from our shelves...

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, here is a card I made last night for a friend of mine who has a Halloween week birthday...

This is a 5x5"x 5x5" card, covered with some vintage patterned paper. I stamped the black cardstock with a NEW Tim Holtz Halloween Silhouettes stamp {which is currently out-of-stock everywhere!}. I heat embossed the background stamp with black powder, I love the tone-on-tone look of this. I also stamped my sentiment, with a Pink by Design "Big Thoughts" stamp, and die-cut around it with the LC Paint Swashes.

It's hard to show tone-on-tone embossing in a photograph, but here's a little bit of a close-up...

I hope you can make out the words "fright", "candy" and "bats". It's a great Halloween-word background!

And now - for our Fri-DARE-day #5 winner...

The winner of the Scrapy Crafts "A Little Lime" font is...

Miss Danielle - - - HOORAY Danielle! Congratulations! You can the outside of Danielle's card by clicking here! And the inside of her card by clicking here! What a bright and sunny card. She used an adorable stamp from the C.C. Designs line. Danielle, please email me {stampylandsusan@gmail.com} and I'll get your information passed along to Dani in the warehouse. He'll get your brand NEW Scrapy Crafts font packed up and shipped out. I will also send you the code for your Golden Essie...

our two DARE Diva-ettes for this challenge are...

Tina, created an adorable candy holder, and decorated both sides of it! Cute cute cute! And she heat embossed parts of her LaLa Land stamped image. I love the dimensional look it gives her image! You can see her creation by clicking here!

And LWebster, is a Diva-ette once again! She's going to want to cash all of her Diva-ettes in and turn them into a prize! She made this super-cute birthday card with a Greeting Farm image, and a Scrapy Crafts My Micro font! You can see her card by clicking here!

Thank you all for stamping along with us for this DARE! I hope you'll join us and stamp a background...or two!

You'll find the linking for below - so upload your creation to an online gallery or to your personal blog. Then add the appropriate information below. If you have any questions about what to do, or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below.

TODAY IS THE DAY...

2011-09-23T17:33:00.001-07:00

that I dare you to do something different!

Try something new, stretch out of your comfort zone, reach for that imaginary line and cross it!

You know, because it's FUN! And if you're doing these things in your paper crafting, it's relatively safe. {haha}

Today I did just that! I am trying to embrace stamped sentiments more and more. But for some reason they scare me to death. I feel safer with die-cut sentiments. But wow - have you seen some of the great sentiment sets lately? I'm in LOVE...

Hero Arts "Essential Messages"
Hero Arts "Find Joy"
Lawn Fawn's "Hello Friend"
and these awesome Kraftin' Kimmie "Halloween Sentiments"

{You can click on any of the GREEN WORDS and you'll see the product in our store!}

So I'm trying - to stamp sentiments. Just to shake things up, to keep them fresh {and to use all of these that I've been collecting!} So here goes...

I used a new Belles n' Whistles stamp that is available right now over on our sister-site Scrapy Land {it'll be available here soon!} My daughter has just started doing her own laundry at college, so this card is going to her. {Notice the red piece of laundry - inside the card I will reminder her of the "reds by themselves" rule!!}

My sentiment is from the Hero Arts "Essential Messages" set. The sentiment comes as one long string of text, but I made it a double-decker sentiment with a quick Scotch Tape trick. Maybe I'll show you how next week for the Tute-Day tutorial if you'd like?!?!?!

I die-cut the image and a mat with LC Nesting Circles and LC Nesting Eyelet Circles. Love these two shapes together!

Just a reminder - you have one more weekend to work on your Fri-DARE-day challenge entry. I know you can do it! Look, I did the inside of my card today...

and if I can do it - you can do it too!

If you have any questions about my supplies or the DARE, please leave a comment-question below. And if you're interested in the Scotch-tape trick for altering sentiments, comment as well!

Challenge yourself, and see what you can do! I bet you'll impress yourself!

A WEDNESDAY "TUTE"...

2011-09-21T16:41:00.001-07:00

because this morning when I filmed it, it was still Tuesday.

Seems people are always wondering what to do with their stamped images that are "sitters". Well here is my go-to solution, in a pinch...

Supplies used for this project:

Here is a picture of the finished project, after I shizzled it up...

and since this week's Fri-DARE-day #5 is to embellish the inside of your card project, I obliged...

There is still lots of time to get your DARE entry into the mix. CLICK here to read all about the requirements and how to enter. An Scrapy Crafts font is up for grabs this week - and you each get two entries! You've got nothing to lose, I hope you'll stamp along this week!

FOUR IS OVER AND DONE...

2011-09-16T13:52:00.007-07:00

and it's time for a winner, some kudos and another Fri-DARE-day Challenge!

A "super-Essie-thank-you" to all of our DARE #4 participants. We are still looking for more participants, so we would love to have you spread the word. The more participants we get, the bigger the prizes we can hand out, the more often we can hand out prizes, and the more inspiration there is for everyone!

The winner of the Fri-DARE-day #4 will be announced at the end of today's post. For now, let's go over the specifics for the next DARE!

The prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #5 will receive

"A Little Lime", one of our Die-Versions
original fonts! This is a great font {as you'll see below}

Now, let's see the DARE...

I've seen lots of great cards lately, and a growing trend is to not just stamp a sentiment inside your cards, but to further embellish, decorate, layer, color and shizzle them as well.

I'm trying hard to make it a new habit. And so far - I'm doing okay. Usually I'm choosing to re-stamp all or part of my outside image, and add scraps of paper left over from the outside. It really goes pretty quickly. So this week we would love to see any card, any size, any theme - with an outside AND an inside. That means uploading/sharing two pictures. But that also means you get two entries for this week's prize! Let's hear it for double-dips!

OH - and we oh-so-love it when you use lines carried here at Stampy Land. It's inspiration and enabling at its finest!

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, here is a card I made last night for a special college girl...

This is a 5.5"x 5.5" card, covered with some awesome Bo Bunny patterned paper from Scrapy Land. I colored Cheerleader Marci with Copics {I'm forcing myself to use red, so I get better, go me! All of this red was done with R20, R22, R27 and R29} and then I cut her out and foam-dotted her so she's popped off the grey LC Nesting Oval and the LC Nesting Lace Edged Oval as well. Some black gems were I-Rocked around the lace edge, I thought the bling matched the glittery pom-poms that were accented with a Red Spica pen from Copic.

I die-cut my sentiment with two brand NEW Scrapy Crafts fonts, My Micro and A Little Lime. I love these two fonts together!

And for the inside of the card...

One off-set stamped image and a strip of paper from the front - done! Still plenty of room for my "you go girl" message inside! I do hope you'll like the idea of dressing up your cards' insides. And, more than anything, I hope you'll share them with us. Together we have lots of ideas!

And now - for our Fri-DARE-day #4 winner...

The winner of the Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Scallops, valued at almost $25.000 MSRP, and the recipient of a coveted "Golden Essie" is...

Miss Nikki - - - hip hip HOORAY! You can see Nikki's card by clicking here! Nikki's cute boy card was the first time she's ever tried the masking technique. Great job. She used the little Spring Trevor stamp from C.C. Designs and the coordinating Park Bench stamp. Nikki please email me your shipping address and I'll get your LC Nesting Scalloped Circles out to you on Monday. {stampylandsusan@gmail.com} I'll also send you the code for your Golden Essie...

our two DARE Diva-ettes for this challenge are...

Mimi, our winner DARE #3, created a cute card that you can see by clicking here. What a great plaid coloring job!

And LWebster did the amazing card you can see by clicking here. Love this little guy's blue hair!

Thank you all for stamping along with us for this DARE!

You'll find the linking form below - so upload your creation to an online gallery or to your personal blog, and add the appropriate information below. If you have any questions about what to do, or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below!

I've got stampy plans this afternoon, so it's time to get busy. I hope you'll join us for an "outside AND inside" card creation DARE!

IT'S TIME FOR A VIDEO...

2011-09-14T17:22:00.001-07:00

that's jam packed with quick-tips! Tricks with teflon mats, distress inks and American Crafts clear stamps!

Here is the card that I'll be showing you in the video...

And here's how it was made...

CLICK HERE to see all of the fabulous American Crafts stamps. The specific ones I used to make the cards in the video are this set for the "congratulations" sentiment and this set for the "thinking of you" sentiment. These are all available now at Stampy Land, and for great prices. For under $10 you get a large set, or for under $6 a small set. Lots of images, sentiments, flourishes and borders!

The Distress Inks I used are available at our sister site Scrapy Land. The colors I used for this particular project include: Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Barn Door. I love this combination of pink and reds. And if you're going to try this technique, definitely use the Inkssentials Blending Tool and the replacement pads. LOVE using the distress inks with these little foam pads. Pure perfection!

There is still time to get a card uploaded for the Fri-DARE-day "BOY" challenge. We hope you'll join in the DARE!

If you have any questions about inks or stamps or blending - leave a comment below with a comment-question. Otherwise, share you favorite ways to use Ranger Distress Inks!

I'll be back Friday morning with Fri-DARE-day #5!

MY MOM ALWAYS TOLD ME...

2011-09-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

not to cry over spilled milk. But she never mentioned what my reaction should be to an exploding Viva Decor Sunny Yellow Pearl Pen...

I started coloring my Greeting Farm Summer Fun stamp this morning, and I was so happy with how he was coming together. I shadowed his swim ring, I colored his hair through his swim goggles - and while I am still perfecting my Copic red techniques, I thought everything was looking pretty great!

I die-cut a couple of new Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Lace Ovals and added some Echo Park papers under them. I was going to make the noon mail pickup at my local post office with plenty of time to spare.

That's when I decided to add "just one more thing! I wanted just a couple of yellow Viva Decor, sparkly accents on either side of the sentiment. No problem, easy peasie, and plenty of time to dry before it hit the mail.

SPUUUU-LHAT!

Seems I had a small clog, and didn't realize it until a nano-second too late!

The paper! The die-cut mats. The colored image...

But when you've spent time on a card, and have a recipient in mind - I think even an "accidentally altered" card in the mail is still better than no card in the mail. Good mail is good mail - always! So I scraped off what I could {which wasn't much - haha!} let everything dry, signed the inside and dropped it in the mailbox.

I might send a follow-up card tomorrow. Sort of explaining the yellow haze on this card. Or I might not. It could be fun to see if the recipient mentions it!

There's still plenty of time to enter a card in the Fri-DARE-day #4 challenge. Anything boy themed - any size, any project, any subject. But geared towards a boy. And if you don't have an actual boy to stamp - how about bugs or vehicles or sports equipment? Those are boy themed and would all qualify your project!

In fact, put a yellow haze on anything and I might just think that's good enough! {HAHAHAHA!}

TODAY SNUCK UP ON ME...

2011-09-06T12:27:00.002-07:00

after the long, holiday weekend. Luckily I received a great question last week that I could quickly turn into a TUTE-day Video this morning!

If you ever have stampy-questions, feel free to email me at stampylandsusan@gmail.com. There might just be a TUTE-day Video in your answer!

Here is the method I use for making a perfectly lined up "aperture card"...

All of the brand new, CHA Winter released Spellbinders can be used in this manner. Some of my new favorites being...

the Spellbinders Netabilities Labels Twenty-Three,
the Spellbinders Natabilities Post Stamp, and
the Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornaments

But of course, any nesting die-shape will work the exact same way. Lifestyle Crafts has some great new Nesting Shapes, one of which is our prize for the current Fri-DARE-day Challenge #4. For more details on that, CLICK HERE!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment-question below. I will leave a comment-answer, or add it to my list of video ideas {wink, wink}!

THE THIRD IS OVER...

2011-09-02T10:00:00.002-07:00

so that means it's time for a few winners and another Fri-DARE-day Challenge!

A super-Essie-thank-you" to everyone who participated in our Fri-DARE-day #3. The number of participants is slowly growing - and that's good progress! Square cards are obviously popular - lots of good creations to look at!

The winner of the Fri-DARE-day #3 will be announced at the end of today's post. For now, let's go over the specifics for the next DARE!

First, the prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #4 will receive

a Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Shape

from the recent Summer CHA release.

Lifestyle Crafts has donated this prize,

and it's a surprise which one they are sending.

{Don'tcha just love surprises?!}

Now, let's see the DARE...

since my daughter is away at college, I'm alone in a house of all boys! I'm greatly outnumbered {even our dog is male!}. So with boys, boys, boys, all around me - I decided it's time to focus on boy appropriate cards. Oftentimes they are difficult for me. No bling, no flowers, not a lot of my favorite colors. However, there are TONS of great boy stamp images! So create anything, any sized, any color, just make sure at least one image on your project is a boy!

OH - and we love it when you use lines we carry here at Stampy Land!

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, here is a card I just made for the youngest boy in my house ...

I used one of our very own Scrapy Crafts stamps, "Handsome in Plaid Dan". He's colored with Copics and matted on a Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Inverted Squares. {I love these LC Inverted Squares, but I really needed a rectangle. To create one I sliced an inch off of the left side and simply spread the shape out under the brown-and-blue dotted patterned paper. Instant faux inverted rectangle!}

I die-cut my sentiment with two Scrapy Crafts fonts that were just released on September 1st. "DUDE" is the Castaway font, and "you totally rock" is the My Micro font. {1/4" die-cut letters - this font is awesome!}

And now - for our Fri-DARE-day #3 winners!

The winner of the SURPRISE die package, valued at almost $25.00 MSRP, and the recipient of a coveted "Golden Essie" is...

Miss Mimi - - - YAY Mimi! Mimi's cute square card would actually have also worked for this week's challenge - LOL! Her Greeting Farm image is one of my faves! You can see her card by clicking HERE! Check out her card, and leave her some comment-love. Mimi - please email me your shipping address at stampylandsusan@gmail.com and I'll get your prize headed your way AND I'll send you the code for your Golden Essie...

our two DARE Diva-ettes for this challenge are...

Miss Anne! You can see Anne's card by clicking HERE! I love how her stamped image just JUMPS off of the card. The dark background is just gorgeous!

and

Miss Divine! Who has her card displayed RIGHT HERE! Such a fun take on a square card. Love the decorated top edge, and how she layered paper over her stamped trees for added dimension!

Thank you all for stamping along with us.

You'll find the linking form below - so upload your creation to an online gallery or to your personal blog, and add the information below. If you have any questions about what to do, or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below!

It's time to start the long-weekend. I hope you can carve out some crafty time for yourself. Fri-DARE-day #4 starts right now - ENJOY!

TIME FOR ANOTHER...

2011-08-30T09:49:00.003-07:00

Tute-Day tutorial video!

Today's video actually is a bonus video. Two tips to share - a folded flower {thanks Karen!} and a background stamp suggestion. Watch it and see what you think...

The supplies I used in today's project are as follows:

Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Scalloped Circles {I used 5th one from the center}
Lifetsyle Crafts Nesting Spray {I used the 3rd from the middle}
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Twenty-Three {I used 3rd from the middle}
Hero Arts Background Friend Definition {love this stamp - use it ALL of the time!}
Scrapy Crafts Die-Versions font - A Little Lime {a personal favorite!}
Scrapy Crafts Die-Versions font - Flutterby {such a fun and versatile font!}

Before I run - a reminder that TOMORROW is the deadline for your Stampy Land Fri-DARE-day #3. It's a square card - super simple. Let your crafty reckless abandon run wild - create anything you want, as long as it's on a square base!

Click here to go back to the Friday post describing the DARE details - and add your project picture with the linking system in that post! The prize is a set of nesting dies - I hope you'll play along!

I'll be back Friday with a brand spankin' NEW Fri-DARE-day post. Until then, stay tuned to the fun happening over at our sister site, Scrapy Land. September 1st is going to be a CRAZY BIG day!

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY...

2011-08-26T18:14:00.001-07:00

fun and fresh faces!

Next week I'm going to tell you all about a group of ladies I've asked to join the Stampy Land Challenge family. They are going to share fun projects and great inspiration.

You met Veronica earlier this week - with her awesome stamped scrapbook page. Today I have a gorgeous card from my new friend Maribel...

Maribel LOVES layers, and she's inspired to try some intense layering this weekend. Laying is a great use for the scraps of paper we all have {you have scraps - right?!?!} but it's always a way to get fun textures, colors and even subtle themes into your card front.

This stamped image is Miss Anya from Greeting Farm - which is beautifully colored with Copics. Black hair is a challenge for me, and Maribel nailed it! Lots of fun embellies like chiffon ribbons, adhesive pearls and paper flowers make this card a piece of art!

Thought I'd share a couple of fun stamp sets that I'm adding to my collection this weekend...

La-La Land Crafts "Witch Marci" {love her!}

Penny Black "Be Very Scared" {so darn cute!}

Crafty Secrets "Costume Cuties" {love the vintage feel!}

and

Lawn Fawn "Heebie Jeebies" {love the sleeping upside-down bat!}

Can you tell that I've got Halloween on my mind this week? It's because Halloween is usually when we can start counting on cooler days and nights. Right now - it's hot hot hot! Luckily, stamping doesn't really involve moving, so I consider it a "cool activity" - LOL!

Just a reminder that the Fri-DARE-day Challenge #3 is still going on. You have until Wednesday, August 31st to get your submission in. Click ON THIS LINK to find the current challenge, and the linking form to share your creation! Squares are fun because they provide lots of room.

Lots of room for layers, just like the beautiful square card shown above! Thanks Maribel, for letting me share your talent!

A LITTLE STAMPY...

2011-08-23T08:00:00.002-07:00

scrapy, inspiration today!

Because I'm in the car.
Driving.
925 miles before I sleep.

Instead of a Tute-Day via video, to make it a bit more "doable" this week I thought some visual inspiration would be okay. {Fingers crossed that you think it's okay!}

I'll be back home in a couple of day - and life will return to normal. Normal schedule, normal routines, normal postings. WHEW - I can't wait!

I often times forget that stamping on a scrapbook page is A.O.K! It's easy and doable, in fact, it's downright adorable in a lot of instances!

And it's definitely a great way to make your stamps work overtime for you.

I have a few new stampy friends who have agreed to check in and help me out from time-to-time. Veronica is the first of these friends. She's experienced and amazingly talented at using stamped images and patterns on her scrapbook pages. I am inspired by everything I see of hers...

She explained to me that she was at a local crop and the challenge was to make a page with only black and white supplies. Well, she didn't have many black or white embellishments with her, and she didn't have any patterned paper that fit the bill. So she improvised - and scored huge points in the "just make due" category!

She masked off a rectangle of the white cardstock, with a scrap piece of paper. She then misted around the edges of the exposed white cardstock. She then stamped two of the images from the adorable Greeting Farm "Creepin' Kit" and colored them with just Cool Greys for a monochromatic look. Add in the few black buttons and ribbon she had, and some scraps of patterned paper she grabbed from a neighbor - and her black and white page was done!

Stamping on a page - something we should all try! Look at how adorable the Greeting Farm images look on her page! They match her sons perfectly! Almost customizable!

Thank you Veronica - for the necessary reminder that stamps DO belong on scrapbook pages!

Speaking of pages - you realize that a 12"x 12" page is really no different than a 6"x 6" card. Right? Well THAT is the challenge this time around - the Stampy Land Fri-DARE-day that I posted last week is to create a card that is square!

Easy peasie! Looking at Veronica's page - one could almost use it as guide for designing a card! I DARE you to try it!

Any questions or comments about Veronica's cute page, the current challenge, or how long it takes me to drivev 925 miles - just leave a comment below and I'll get back to you from the next rest stop.

THE SECOND IS OVER...

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

and it's time for winners and another DARE!

A big "thank you" to everyone who participated in our Fri-DARE-day #2. I so enjoy looking at everyone's cards - seeing how each person took the DARE and made it their own!

The winner of the Fri-DARE-day #2 will be announced at the end of today's post. For right now, let's go over the details for the next DARE!

First of all, the prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #3 will receive

a SURPRISE die package

valued at almost $25.00 MSRP!

{I can't show you a picture, because it's sitting on my desk.

And right now, my desk is 1,500 miles away!'}

Contents include a Spellbinders Nestabilities from the CHA release!

{I will add a picture when I get home!}

Now, on to the DARE...

sometimes I forget that cards don't have to be 4.25"x 5.5". And I do so love square cards - something about the equal sides and bigger landscape that makes me smile! So make any card, any theme, with any supplies - but at least one item has to be by a manufacturer we carry in the Stampy Land store.

{Essie would like to point out that her favorite wooden handled stamp is square. And while it's big and heavy - it's all hers, and it's definitely her favorite!}

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, I made up a square card. I personally like the 5.5"x 5.5" size...

I used my latest Loralie Designs stamp, "Goldie". I colored her with Copics and cut her out right on the stamped line. She's been pop-dotted on top of a Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Scalloped Rectangle. My sentiment was die-cut using the latest Scrapy Crafts Tide Pool font, and mounted to two graduated Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Frames 8.

And now - for our Fri-DARE-day #2 winners!

The winner of the $15.00 Gift Certificate to Stampy Land, and the recipient of a coveted "Golden Essie" is...

Miss Nancy J. - - - hooray! Nancy's pink-and-green creation is fun and whimsical. Heck, it's even shimmery! You can see her stamped creation by clicking HERE! Check out her card and leave her some comment-love. Please email me at stampylandsusan@gmail.com for your gift certificate code AND the code to your very own...

Our two DARE Diva-ettes for this challenge are...

Miss Nancie Q! {It's Nancy/Nancie week at Stampy Land!} You can see her selected card by clicking HERE. And Nancie - I love how you finish the inside of your cards. I'm going to DARE myself to do that - you've inspire me!

And Miss Karen! You will find her card by clicking HERE! I love the dimension from Flower Soft in the bicycle basket. And while this card doesn't scream hot pink and lime green - it most definitely is a lovely pink and green creation!

Thank you all for stamping along for the DARE! Both of these ladies would love to hear from you, I'm just sure of it!

That's quite enough for now. You'll find the linking form below - so upload your creation to an online gallery or your personal blog, and add the information. If you have any questions about what to do or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below!

Fri-DARE-day #3 starts right now - hope you stamp some fun with it!

YESTERDAY WAS MONDAY...

2011-08-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

which means today is TUTE-day!

My sincere apologies for missing last week's video. Traveling and packing up computer equipment is not my strong point obviously. I had a video all recorded, but saved it to the wrong external drive. It's saved on the drive I DON'T travel with. {Which I should know by know...but I don't! LOL}

So here is a NEWLY recorded video, of last week's tip. I hope it's one you can put to great use right away!

The Scotch Removable Tape can be found by clicking right here, at our sister-site Scrapy Land. It truly is a great product, one that I use daily for stamping, cardmaking, die-cutting and scrapbooking!

The other Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Dies that you saw in the video can be found here, at Stampy Land:

Inverted Squares
Nesting Frame 7 and
Nesting Frame 8

If you have any questions about "the Scotch Tape Trick", feel free to leave a comment below. I'll respond with a comment-answer as soon as I can!

Thanks for joining me for TUTE-day!

TODAY I HAVE...

2011-08-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

a little card inspiration, and a reminder for you.

First up - some pink and green inspiration. The Fri-DARE-day #2 that was posted last week, is all about pink and green. Anything pink and green. Everything pink and green. I've driven 1,500 miles since then, but I brought along some pink and green to show you...

I needed a quick little enclosure card, and this brand new Baby Fairy Flora from Stampavie fit the bill perfectly. I colored her with just a couple of Copics in RVs and YGs, and matted her on some Echo Park papers. The outer most layer was die-cut with one of the NEW Lifestyle Crafts Lacy Edged Squares. I just love these new lacy shapes - they make such beautiful shaped card bases.

For one extra lime green punch I wrapped some Sew Easy Variegated Floss around the middle layer of the card.

I'm sorry there wasn't a Tute-Day this week. I had one all recorded and saved, but I saved it to the wrong external drive at home. The non-portable external drive. So when I went to upload it Tuesday it wasn't with me. And I soon discovered that a video is way too large of a file to email - LOL! So that means I'll be re-recording the tutorial this weekend. My apologies - hopefully it will be worth the wait!

If you haven't created a card yet for the DARE, I hope you will do so! There's a great prize up for grabs, and all it takes is a little pink and green card!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise, scroll back to last Friday's post and link-up your creation. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

THE FIRST IS OVER...

2011-08-05T08:00:00.003-07:00

and it's time for the next. I love how time just keeps moving on!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first ever Fri-DARE-day Challenge! We had a great turnout for a brand new challenge blog - onward and upward is the only place to go from here! So spread the word, share the news, invite your friends - DARE them to play along!

The winner of Fri-DARE-day #1 will be announced at the end of today's post. Until then let's go the details for the next Fri-DARE-day challenge.

First of all, the prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #2 will receive

a $15.00 gift certificate to Stampy Land!

Use it for any in stock stamp of your choice.

Let's hear it for FREE STAMPS that YOU PICK yourself!

Now, on to the DARE...

we like our logo colors so much we decided to make it this week's challenge. Any card, or any stamped project, any size, made with any supplies of your choice. But it'd sure be nice if at least one supply in your project list is from a manufacturer carried by Stampy Land.

{Essie wanted to submit herself, but her ears only cover half the challenge colors. She's obligated to get green into her project somehow!}

For some Fri-DARE-day inspiration, I worked with pinks and greens myself...

I used my first ever Kraftin' Kimmie stamp for this card. Her new set "Bench Friends" melted my heart when I saw it. My daughter is headed to college next week and guess what the first thing was in her suitcase? Sebastian, her 18 year old teddy bear *SIGH*!

I colored the image with Copic markers {tangent - do you all want to know Copic colors? Do you want to know the specific colors I used to color specific areas? Or are you good with just "Copics" listed as a supply?} and used some Distress Inks to sponge in the background. One image is colored, cut and pop-dotted on top of another image that was rough-colored underneath. I love this look.

The entire image I cut out with a NEW Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Lace Oval, that was then matted on a NEW Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Oval. I love that all of these new shapes worth together, to make matting and layering effortless.

The sentiment from the Bench Friends set was stamped on a scrap of white paper, that was cut with the NEW Nesting Lace Rectangles.

The card might look a bit odd in this shot, but it's because it's a gate-fold card and opens in the middle...

My pink and green cardstock is all American Crafts and the pink floral paper is from Echo Park. Add a little Copic-colored bling around the lacey edges and this card is ready to stick in a certain college-bound girl's first care package!

And now - for our Fri-DARE-day winners!

The winner of the first Stampy Land challenge ever, recipient of a $15.00 Stampy Land gift certificate AND the proud owner of a coveted "Golden Essie" is...

Miss Carolyn! Be sure and check out her blog for her winning card and leave her some comment-love on her beautiful two toned, seashell creation! Congrats Carolyn. Please email me at stampylandsusan@gmail.com for your gift certificate code AND the code to your very own...

Our two DARE diva-ettes for this challenge are...

Miss Leslie! You can see her card right here. Cute! Almost suitable for this week's DARE - LOL!

Miss Beccy! Beccy's beautiful card can be seen right here. Great dimension, just gorgeous!

Everyone's cards will be on display in our DARE gallery {which right now is still being organized...details coming soon, I promise!}

That's it for now. New DARE - check! New inspiration - check! Winners announced - check! New linking form - check! If you have any questions about what to do or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below.

Fri-DARE-day #2 starts right now - hope you stamp some fun with it!

IT'S "TUTE TUESDAY" TIME...

2011-08-02T10:43:00.001-07:00

stemming from a couple of questions I have received. I LOVE getting questions, and being able to answer them in a video. If you have questions, don't be afraid to speak up and be heard. Leave a comment or shoot me an email {stampylandsusan@gmail.com} and ask away!

As for today's video, here ya go...

Sometimes I think simple ideas are the best ones {inexpensive doesn't hurt either!}.

If you have a great idea for stamp storage, or think you might try this one for yourself - I hope you'll leave a comment and let us know! I think it's always fun to hear what others do when it comes to "organization".

Now for a Stampy Land Public Service Announcement! Tomorrow is Wednesday, August 3rd - and that means the first DARE is due at 11:59pm PDT. We currently have eight stunning entries- let's give everyone a run for their money. We've got a $15 gift certificate up for grabs AND a Golden Essie. {LOL!} So grab your favorite beach themed materials and whip up a card. We'd love to see it!

Here is a link to the Fri-DARE-day post, just to refresh your memory. When you click on the card submissions at the end of that post, leave them some comment-love on their own blog. Comments make the world go 'round!

Winners announced on Friday, new Fri-DARE-day challenge AND I just received some brand new stamps. Looks like I'll be getting inky today!

A FRIDAY REMINDER...

2011-07-29T07:00:00.002-07:00

one week from today we'll be announcing our first Stampy Land Challenge winner. The first ever Golden Essie will be handed out. I'm so excited!

In case you missed last Friday's post, the "Fri-DARE-day Challenge" is...

Anything that you think constitutes a "day at the beach". For me that might be a turtleneck and SPF 99, for you it might be something completely different! But the theme is wide-open, so have some fun with it.

To enter your card in the Fri-DARE-day you'll need to scroll back to last Friday's post and add your project with the linky button provided.

And just in case you're on the fence, I thought I'd give you a tiny nudge. How about a Stampy Land Pinkprint {blueprints are so boring...}

Maybe it'll provide a bit of inspiration. Maybe it'll make entering the DARE a bit easier. Maybe it'll make you crave a raspberry martini? Regardless, feel free to use this "Pinkprint" if it helps you get your stamp on!

I just HAD to make a card with it - sure it's my job, but I just love scallops...

I used the cute sandcastle from the Penny Black "Beach Day" set. I love it when one large stamp comes with lots of supporting pieces. I also used some brand-spankin'-new Spellbinders that showed up yesterday. Wow this NEW release of nesting shapes from Spellbinders is amazing. I used the NEW Picot Edge Circles to frame my stamped image. The image itself and the orange Kaiser Craft paper behind it were all cut with Spellbinders Large Nesting Circles.

All of the patterned paper for this card are from the exact same 6"x 6" Kaiser Craft pad. I love working from these pads - everything matches, and everything is sized to work perfectly on cards. If you've never tried them out - our sister site Scrapy Land has a wide variety of 6"x 6" pads available. You can see them all BY CLICKING HERE.

If you have any questions about entering the DARE, please leave a comment below. I'll respond with a comment-answer. If you've decided to play along in the DARE - hooray! We'd love to have you.

If you are thinking about sunscreen, sandy toes and raspberries - hee hee - my stampy apologies!

OUR FIRST EVER...

2011-07-26T09:33:00.001-07:00

"Tute-Tuesday". Which is our slang for "tutorial Tuesday".

This is a quick video answer a stamping question I get a lot. The steps necessary to mask an image, and turn two separate images into one.

I am in the process of uploading this to our own YouTube video channel. Soon all Stampy Land tutorials will be in one location, and searchable. Let's hear it for technology!

The stamp I used in the video can be seen here, sweet "Spring Emma" by C.C. Designs. And while the swing I used is a golden-oldie from my stash, there are several new images that Emma can sit on. I love this Park Bench, and the Fence is handy because figures can stand next to it, in front of it, behind it or on it! And this stone bench is my next C.C.Designs purchase - love this one!

Experiment with mixing and matching stamp lines, combine figures and elements, flowers and scenery. Once you get the hang of it some of your stamps can take on a brand new life!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment-question in the comment space below! I'll respond with a comment-answer as soon as I can!

WHEW!...

2011-07-22T08:00:00.010-07:00

what a big week this has been.

Stampy Land opens, blog rolls out, fans flock and positive responses are everywhere! THANK YOU! Thank you for commenting, thank you for LIKING, thank you for sharing, thank you for shopping and thank you for sending congratulations. We couldn't be more excited!

I'm still tweaking and scheduling, deciding and creating - but I promised you today would be our first Fri-DARE-day and I stick to my promises.

First up, the prize...

winner of Fri-DARE-day #1 will receive

a $15.00 gift certificate to StampyLand!

Spendable any way you see fit, for any in stock item!

WOO HOO!

Second up, the DARE...

easy enough? Anything beachy, watery, sandy, tropical, breezy or fishy. If you can find it at the beach - you can use it. My only request is that at least one item on your card has to be from a manufacturer carried by Stampy Land {sentiment stamp, image stamp, die}. The exact item doesn't have to be in stock, but the manufacturer needs to be represented in our line-up!

For a little inspiration, I worked on the dare today...

I used a stamp from Pink Cat Studios called "Lily at the Beach". {She's out of stock right now, but I'll add a link when she's available again.} She's colored with Copics and mounted on a shaped card base that I cut with the NEW Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Lace Rectangles.

With the sweltering heat that it seems like we're all enduring, I thought "beach" was an appropriate theme. I hope you're inspired to create something, and then I hope you send it to someone special. This little lime green mermaid is going to my girlfriend across town. She'll know it's from me as soon as she sees it - who but me would make a lime green sky on a beach scene?!

For more details, specifics, instructions and the nitty-gritty-rules, please click over in the right hand side-bar on the RULES FOR DARES page.

This is easy, it's fun, it's addictive, and there are prizes! {Wait until you see Essie all dolled up in solid gold! Trust me - you want a Golden Essie badge.}

If you have any questions about what to do or how to do it, feel free to leave a comment-question below. I'll respond with a comment-answer as soon as I can.

Fri-DARE-day #1 starts right now - hope you have fun with it!

WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME...

2011-07-18T18:39:00.008-07:00

to what we'd like to think of as your new stampy home!

Around here we stamp, we create, we learn and we share. But most of all - we have fun!

This is a challenge blog. Meaning - we'll challenge each other. But we like to be a little more exciting, so we call 'em dares! We will issue two dares a month, usually the first and third Fridays of the month. We call these days "Fri-dare-days".

There will be prizes for winners and goodies for all participants. You'll also want to tune in on Tuesday, or "Tute-days" as we like to say. Watch a tutorial, see a demonstration, learn a crazy trick. You never know exactly what you'll see on Tute-day, so come prepared for anything!

Inspiration, encouragement, challenges, demonstrations, explanations and dares - all combined with a fair amount of enabling. You'll find it all at the Stampy Land Challenge blog.

There's a little grey mouse running around the blog. She likes to be called Stamper-Extraordinaire but we just call her Essie. She'll pop in from time to time - I'm sure she'll have an opinion when it comes to handing out prizes!

As for what's coming up - all I can say is LOTS! I'm working on getting things tweaked around here. Links are being updated, rules are being posted, guidelines are being figured out. However Friday morning the first Stampy Land Dare will be posted. You won't want to miss it!

If you happen to Facebook, over in the right hand side-bar is our Facebook link. You can LIKE us directly from here. It's fun to see who our friends are and where you're from. We'll be doing giveaways and contest directly on Facebook from time-to-time, so we'd love it if you'd LIKE us! As soon as we reach 50 LIKES we'll do a $10 gift certificate giveaway. When we reach 100 LIKES we'll do two more!

I leave you with this, a little beachy scene I colored-up today...

This is an adorable Penny Black stamp from the NEW Beach Day set. {If you click on the picture it'll enlarge!} She's been colored with Copics, cut out freehand, and placed on a shaped card that was cut with a brand-spankin' new Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Shape.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this blog post. I tend to answer comment-questions with comment-answers. So check back often.